The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Sunday threatened to slap sanctions on China’s national team after three top players quit a tournament in apparent protest at their head coach’s removal.
The ITTF received a public apology from the Chinese team, but it said it was taking the matter “extremely seriously” as it “damaged the image and the integrity of table tennis globally.”
“Right now, all potential sanctions are on the table, and the ITTF will continue its investigation before any decisions are made,” the sport’s world governing body said in a statement.
Photo: AP
The ITTF said the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) gave a preliminary statement, but it requested a detailed report.
The sport’s three top-ranked players — Ma Long, Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong — all failed to appear on Friday for their second-round singles matches at the prestigious ITTF World Tour Platinum China Open in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Two coaches also failed to show.
The national team said in a public apology issued late on Saturday that the players forfeited their matches “on impulse without fully understanding the details of the modifications that will be made to the management of the team.”
“We have deeply realized the seriousness of this fault, resulting in ... damaging the team’s positive social image of upholding patriotism, collectivism and striving to fight for the glory of the country,” the team statement added.
Their no-show prompted China’s top sports authority to order an investigation and reprimand the players, saying they had “ignored national honor and interests” and “disrespected the public.”
The trio’s elimination from the four-day tournament, which ended yesterday, came after they posted online protests over the removal of Liu Guoliang, who had been the Chinese team’s head coach for more than a decade.
“At this moment we don’t like to play anymore because we miss you, Liu Guoliang,” the players said in identical posts on Weibo.
The two absent coaches posted the same message.
Liu, a former Grand Slam champion, lost his coaching job in a restructuring announced by the CTTA on Tuesday last week, the official Xinhua news agency said, and was appointed CTTA vice-president.
The shake-up has been a hot topic in China, where table tennis has a huge following.
Last month Kong Linghui was replaced as head of the women’s table tennis team following a gambling debt scandal, sparking a social media frenzy.
The CTTA released a statement defending the changes, saying they aimed to “strengthen the team structure, reduce the level of management hierarchy and improve the efficiency of the preparation for the Olympic Games.”
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was